College Men’s Basketball News – Guilford’s Palombo, Long Claim NABC District Honors

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Guilford College head men’s basketball coach Tom Palombo was chosen as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division III All-South District Coach of the Year Wednesday, his third time receiving the award. Sophomore Carson Long (Pilot Mountain, N.C./East Surry) also added to his list of postseason accolades with his selection to the NABC’s Division III All-South District Second Team. Long is the first Quaker so honored since Matt McCarthy ’15 in 2015.

Tom Palombo - Guilford

Palombo, who also was named the district’s top coach in 2007 and 2009, led the Quakers to a 24-6 overall finish, 13-3 in conference play. Guilford is ranked 23rd in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll and was tabbed second in the final NCAA Division III South Region Rankings. After winning the league’s regular-season crown and the ODAC Tournament title, Guilford advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs for the fifth time in Palombo’s tenure at Guilford. The Quakers won their first-round game, 74-54, over Thomas More College, before being knocked out in the second round by seventh-ranked Marietta College.

Palombo also received the ODAC’s Bob Johnson Coach of the Year Award for a record-tying fourth time in February. The Quakers’ 75-60 victory over Shenandoah University January 7 marked his 500th overall basketball coaching victory. A 1989 Virginia Wesleyan College graduate, Palombo boasts a 272-118 record in 14 seasons as the Quakers’ coach and a 372-181 mark in 20 overall seasons as a men’s mentor.

Carson Long - Guilford 2019

Long enjoyed a breakout season in his second year with the program. The 6-4, 210-pound forward was named First Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the ODAC Tournament. Earlier this week, he received Third Team D3hoops.com All-South Region laurels. Long scored a club-high 14.2 points per game, ninth-best in the league. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds and a team-high 2.2 three-pointers per contest. Long scored in double figures 23 times, including five 20-point games and a pair of 30-point outings. His career-high 32 points on 15-for-20 shooting led the Quakers over conference-rival Eastern Mennonite University, 94-88, November 30. Long’s three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left in regulation lifted Guilford to a road victory over ODAC-foe Washington and Lee University, 68-66. He tallied 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in a February 1 win over Randolph College for his first college double-double.

Palombo expects as many as 14 letter winners back next fall, including Long.